2 Japanese detained in Iran: Japan Foreign Minister
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Smoke rising in Tehran on March 5 following an explosion amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TOKYO – Two Japanese nationals are being detained in Iran, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on March 6.
Amid the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, Mr Motegi informed a Diet session that the government was able to communicate with the two individuals and confirmed that they are currently safe.
One is the Tehran bureau chief of public broadcaster NHK, who was detained on Jan 20 by the local authorities, according to a nonprofit organisation. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press conference on March 6 that the other has been under detention since June.
“The government calls strongly for their early release and will provide as much support as possible while staying in touch with them, their families and related parties,” Mr Motegi said.
The top diplomat added that he confirmed the safety of all Japanese nationals in Iran after the US and Israel began attacking on Feb 28.
“Of the approximately 200 Japanese nationals, about three-quarters are permanent residents, and many of them don’t want to leave the country,” he said.
Ms Kihara, the top government spokesman, also said that Japan will dispatch a Self-Defense Forces airplane “as soon as arrangements are finalised” to prepare for an evacuation of its citizens stranded in the Middle East.
Upon the request of the Foreign Ministry, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has instructed the SDF to send a transport aircraft to the Maldives, an Indian Ocean islands nation, to stand by there, according to Ms Kihara.
She said that the evacuation of Japanese travelers in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates by chartered private flights will start as early as March 7, and that the SDF plane dispatchment is a “precautionary” measure in case such flights become unavailable or other “unpredictable developments”.
Also on March 6, the Foreign Ministry said a Tokyo-bound charter flight will leave Oman at midnight on March 8 local time to evacuate Japanese nationals in Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Separately, Transport Minister Yasushi Kaneko said that debris believed to have fallen from the sky was found at a Japanese-affiliated ship anchored in the Gulf of Oman, causing minor damage such as cracked windows.
No one was injured, and there are no disruptions to the ship’s operations.
The Transport Ministry said it is not possible to determine whether the debris is related to the US-Israel war with Iran. KYODO NEWS
